Has anyone done the Backyard BBQ Dinner at DL?

[Disney-Kim]

Is it similar to Hoop De Doo food at WDW ????

Is it fun? food decent??

any input is appreciated. thanks

 

[DisneyZane]

We were there kind of late, but even on better circumstances I think it would pale compared to Hoop-De-Doo. The food is fine, but the entertainment is just so-so. I kind of enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say it compares favorably to Hoop-Dee-Doo.

 

[oc_tony]

We ate there recently. The food is decent, but different from HDD...bbq chicken instead of fried. You also get cole slaw, bbq ribs, bbq baked beans, and corn bread. Unfortunately, dessert and drinks are extra. IMHO, lunch is a better value than dinner ($5 less, I believe), but dinner adds corn cob wheels and sausage.

The entertainment is nice, but nothing on the level of HDD. Just a piano player, singer, and guitarist (I think) who perform intermittently. There are no characters here anymore. Backyard BBQ at DL is on a much smaller scale than HDD. Hope this helps.

 

[Disney-Kim]

thanks ! that helps....we will try it for a meal and understand the show isn't really what your going for

 

[LavenderPeach]

I've never been to the HDD BBQ so I can't compare but we really liked the Celebration BBQ. We thought the food was good, especially the chicken. DH normally doesn't like to get chicken when we go out because we eat it at home a lot but he loved this chicken and got seconds. We also liked the entertainment. No, it's not a big show - much more low key - but we thought it was entertaining and a fun little show. And I actually liked that it wasn't a big show because we were still able to talk to each other without disrupting the show.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

We just ate here on monday. The lunch price is cheaper but if we didn't have the corn and sausage I would have been really disappointed. The sausage was great! Great flavor! The corn was cooked perfectly. The corn bread is quite tasty too. The beans and coleslaw were spicy but okay. The coleslaw tasted of pepper, not much else. The ribs were decent and the chicken was really good. All in all I'd do dinner if we did it again. The entertainment is simple but cute. If you go I think you'll enjoy it but it isn't as great as the HDD

 

[so_oregon]

we ate there (4 adults, one 3 year old, 1 one-year old) over memorial day weekend. I wasn't thrilled.

first the host sat us at a table at 5 p.m. where sun was shining directly in baby's face if she sat in high chair or in adults' eyes if we tried to feed her. I brought this to waitress's attention and asked to be reseated when she brought the initial plates, etc. She wasn't happy but sat us at a different station after she asked me which table would I PREFER?????...I pointed out one totally in shade and asked if that would be okay and would we be getting a new waitperson? Yup, she pointed to the guy.

15 minutes later....waiter manages to find the table, takes drink orders, and confirms we understand the price, etc.

20 minutes later he brings out food. chicken was hidden at the bottom, 3 wings, 2 thighs and a leg. (THAT went over big with the white meat eating crowd....). Corn bread was very dry.

He did bring refills of drinks once. We asked for more chicken and at that point, he asked white/dark meat to which the whole chorus yelled "white meat"...and the second (smaller, I understand that), bowl of coleslaw came AFTER the chicken (which also took a while to arrive).

Now, this was a 20 minute wait, but we had no reservations...BUT, at the time we sat, the restaurant was not even 1/3 full. AND there were staff standing around. The entire dinner was 1.5 hours with the wait times inbetween. I noticed other tables were offered styrofoam boxes for remaining food; we were not.

I ordered dessert for the group (two big cookie type with ice cream on top)and Mr. Waiter and I had discussed puttingin the order about 10 minutes after food was served. Apparently that didn't happen as we waited AGAIN for dessert. (we were not offered boxes for dessert either).

Food - B-
Service - C
Atmosphere - B+ (we liked the entertainment)

Similar experience at Goofy's Kitchen. I had ordered the birthday bucket (pirate AND princess) for the two kiddoes. We had premier/priority dining with C ostco package so dinner was covered. I paid when we arrived for the two birthday things....which came to $28 and change with tax.

when the table next to us had a birthday, I reminded the waitress that we had birthday kids at this table; she acknowledged......she ended up bringing two cupcakes out with candles and wait staff sang.

waited.....

waited.....

went up to the front after 20 minutes and asked were the two cupcakes 14 bucks? OOOOHHHHHH...had to produce receipt. I asked if they could be taken "to-go" since the kiddoes were running amuck. Oh sure. I had to produce receipt to prove I paid, even though they remembered me....

I go back and sit down, waiting for the to-go box or cakes to come to table.....10 minutes later:

i go back up to counter.

They brought up two chests - one yellow plastic, one pink plastic with cellophane wrapped flags to stick in the cakes that filled the chest. "Can I have a to-go box?" NOPE, we don't have that. "What do you have?" Nothing. maybe you can stop at downtown disney and get a shopping bag?

the guy that brought up the cakes has conveniently disappeared.

At that point, I must have looked like I was going to pop. I asked to speak to the manager. I asked her to refund my money for the cakes as we had two toddlers and about a 15 minute walk back to the shuttle area and then a shuttle ride...there was NO way those cakes, uncovered, were going to make it back in one piece and I really didn't understand why they weren't brought to the table. she wasn't happy with that request but said that if I gave her my receipt, she would charge back the card.

The receipt. I had the receipt and showed it to them. My organizer purse no longer had the receipt. After 10 minutes and finally dumping the entire contents on the counter (and shoving it back in), I asked the hostess "didn't I give you the receipt"...and she acknowledged that the young man who had brought up the cakes had taken it.....she went and got it back.

had my own personal summer moment for that half hour.....

 

[drag n' fly]

we ate there (4 adults, one 3 year old, 1 one-year old) over memorial day weekend. I wasn't thrilled.

first the host sat us at a table at 5 p.m. where sun was shining directly in baby's face if she sat in high chair or in adults' eyes if we tried to feed her. I brought this to waitress's attention and asked to be reseated when she brought the initial plates, etc. She wasn't happy but sat us at a different station after she asked me which table would I PREFER?????...I pointed out one totally in shade and asked if that would be okay and would we be getting a new waitperson? Yup, she pointed to the guy.

15 minutes later....waiter manages to find the table, takes drink orders, and confirms we understand the price, etc.

20 minutes later he brings out food. chicken was hidden at the bottom, 3 wings, 2 thighs and a leg. (THAT went over big with the white meat eating crowd....). Corn bread was very dry.

He did bring refills of drinks once. We asked for more chicken and at that point, he asked white/dark meat to which the whole chorus yelled "white meat"...and the second (smaller, I understand that), bowl of coleslaw came AFTER the chicken (which also took a while to arrive).

Now, this was a 20 minute wait, but we had no reservations...BUT, at the time we sat, the restaurant was not even 1/3 full. AND there were staff standing around. The entire dinner was 1.5 hours with the wait times inbetween. I noticed other tables were offered styrofoam boxes for remaining food; we were not.

I ordered dessert for the group (two big cookie type with ice cream on top)and Mr. Waiter and I had discussed puttingin the order about 10 minutes after food was served. Apparently that didn't happen as we waited AGAIN for dessert. (we were not offered boxes for dessert either).

Food - B-
Service - C
Atmosphere - B+ (we liked the entertainment)

Similar experience at Goofy's Kitchen. I had ordered the birthday bucket (pirate AND princess) for the two kiddoes. We had premier/priority dining with C ostco package so dinner was covered. I paid when we arrived for the two birthday things....which came to $28 and change with tax.

when the table next to us had a birthday, I reminded the waitress that we had birthday kids at this table; she acknowledged......she ended up bringing two cupcakes out with candles and wait staff sang.

waited.....

waited.....

went up to the front after 20 minutes and asked were the two cupcakes 14 bucks? OOOOHHHHHH...had to produce receipt. I asked if they could be taken "to-go" since the kiddoes were running amuck. Oh sure. I had to produce receipt to prove I paid, even though they remembered me....

I go back and sit down, waiting for the to-go box or cakes to come to table.....10 minutes later:

i go back up to counter.

They brought up two chests - one yellow plastic, one pink plastic with cellophane wrapped flags to stick in the cakes that filled the chest. "Can I have a to-go box?" NOPE, we don't have that. "What do you have?" Nothing. maybe you can stop at downtown disney and get a shopping bag?

the guy that brought up the cakes has conveniently disappeared.

At that point, I must have looked like I was going to pop. I asked to speak to the manager. I asked her to refund my money for the cakes as we had two toddlers and about a 15 minute walk back to the shuttle area and then a shuttle ride...there was NO way those cakes, uncovered, were going to make it back in one piece and I really didn't understand why they weren't brought to the table. she wasn't happy with that request but said that if I gave her my receipt, she would charge back the card.

The receipt. I had the receipt and showed it to them. My organizer purse no longer had the receipt. After 10 minutes and finally dumping the entire contents on the counter (and shoving it back in), I asked the hostess "didn't I give you the receipt"...and she acknowledged that the young man who had brought up the cakes had taken it.....she went and got it back.

had my own personal summer moment for that half hour.....

I have had Disney trips go like that no matter how well organized one is. You have no control over complacent staff. Truly I feel your pain that totally sucks big time. We are eating dinner there (bbq) on Sunday hopefully it will work out ok.

 

[want2bsnowwhite]

We will be ther in a couple weeks. There are no more characters at Celebration Roundup ??

 

[Spacepest]

I've been to both, and there is less of a show compared to Hoop De Doo.

I'll just copy and paste my review from an earlier thread:

My husband and I went midweek in October for dinner. We didn't need an advance place seating, which was quite surprising how busy the parks were in October. This might all change on weekends though.

We thought about going for lunch, but decided we wanted the expanded dinner menu instead. Dinner was about $25 a person, and did not include drinks or dessert.

First off, the food. Keep in mind this is not gourmet, family run BBQ with a smokehouse. The meat is not really smoked, and the BBQ sauces on the meat are really mild, not spicy at all. However, the meat was tender and good, not overcooked jerky like alot of low end BBQ joints tend towards. But for what it is, it is not bad. If anything, this is the kind of BBQ that would be good for kids with picky palates, or people with sensitive stomachs (food is not greasy or spicy). The sides were good, my husband even ate the cole slaw and he hates coleslaw. We ended up ordering extra beans, sausage, and corn muffins. Portion size, for two people, it was huge. The first round of meats (ribs, chicken, sausage) were brought in a large metal bucket, and our servers informed us that the food would be served family style, and we could order all we could eat. Dessert was extra, so we ordered one strawberry cupcake to split (as we were really full by this point). Dessert was ok, but it came in a huge fancy table center piece that looked quite impressive. For desserts you have a choice of cupcakes and those seasonal dessert demitasses in the souvenir cups. But seriously, we were so full, we could easily see skipping dessert at this place.

Second, service. We had no problem with the service, as it was prompt and friendly. Waiters and waitresses came to us many times during our meal to see if we wanted any extra helpings of food, and there was always someone there to make sure our drinks were refilled, bring us extra napkins, etc.

Third, entertainment. There was live entertainment and we really liked it! There were two singers, a male and a female (a cowboy, can't remember his name, and Miss Chris) who took turns on stage singing hokey cowboy and Halloween related songs. They would also wander through the audience and encourage the children to get up and dance on stage with them, or line up and dance around the restaurant area. The kids looked like they were having a blast, and if I had children with me, I would not hesitate to take them to this place.

Now, I've heard this place changed from when it originally opened. What I didn't see-no characters meeting and greeting children in the restaurant. Which also meant no photographers going to our table to harass us for our pictures. I'm quite okay with that. There is also a small fenced off area next to the restaurant that the general public can wander into...its more like a stroller parking area than anything. So while people can sneak in and watch the live entertainment beyond this boundary, the servers make it quite clear, if you aren't ordering at the restaurant, you are not allowed to sit at the tables. (IMHO, which is a good thing. The park was quite crowded and I would have been beyond irritated if I had people jammed in around while I was trying to eat).

Would I do this place again? Definately. Especially if I had small children, as they looked like they were having quite a bit of fun with the entertainers!

Edit: Just read So Oregon's post...WOW. That's shockingly bad service. And the restaurant wasn't even completely full? It sounds like complete fail on the restaurant service end. What's even worse, this was on a major holiday weekend...you think restaurant staff would have been on the ball considering this was a big weekend for Disney business.

My experience was completely different. We didn't go thirsty, hungry, and wait staff was constantly attending us. It really makes me wonder what happened that weekend. And the small amount of meat that was offered as an initial serving for such a for a huge party...sounds like they only brought out one bucket of food. I've eaten out of one of those buckets, and that's a big FAIL. While one bucket might be good for a couple, who in their right mind only brings ONE to a huge table full of people?

 

[8timesblessed]

Is this the same as the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ place?? If so we ate there on a Sunday late afternoon of Memorial Day weekend because we had packed up and decided to do one last day in the park before moving onto our next location. It was hot out and the kids were hungry and I had wanted to try out this place so we decided to go. It was nice and cool back there and everyone loved the beans and meat, the cornbread was good, I didn't try the coleslaw. The drinks were $2.99 I think for unlimited but that sure adds up fast. The kids drinks came free with the lunch price. I did ask for boxes when we were done because the kids didn't really eat alot and there was a lot of meat in our buckets so I took them. My kids got to go up on stage with the people doing the show and had a good time. Got 10% off for being a DVC member but it was still $180 for my family of 10.

 

[InLikeSin]

Sorry I'm confused. Are there two places people are taking about here backyard BBQ and Big Thunder Ranch BBQ?

 

[LavenderPeach]

Sorry I'm confused. Are there two places people are taking about here backyard BBQ and Big Thunder Ranch BBQ?

From the descriptions I think everyone is talking about Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. There's only one BBQ place that I know of so I think OP just got the name confused. And of course, i didn't help when i called it the Celebration BBQ (the old name).

 

[so_oregon]

same place...big thunder, celebration, bbq roundup.

wow, family of 10 for 180? I think my bill for 5 was 170. I am gonna have to go look at the bill now.

what was worse, was that on saturday, the host staff was standing OUTSIDE the place, begging folks to come in. I thought for sure, good service here for sure.

 

[perlster]

Sorry I'm confused. Are there two places people are taking about here backyard BBQ and Big Thunder Ranch BBQ?

There is a Backyard BBQ, but it's quite a walk from Frontierland.

 

[blackjackdelta]

There is a Backyard BBQ, but it's quite a walk from Frontierland.

And all this time I thought it was Big Thunder Ranch BBQ.

Jack

 

[Funball]

that link is for the knotts berry farm BBQ!

 

[Funball]

There is a Backyard BBQ, but it's quite a walk from Frontierland.

yes disneyland has a BBQ, it's called the "Big Thunder Ranch Backyard Barbeque", the old name was "OP is reffering to that BBQ place. at leat that is how i read it...

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/parks/dining/detail?name=BigThunderRanchBarbecueDiningPage

 

[heatherleigh]

I thought it was Woody's bbq Round Up. I do not like the sounds of dark meat. I hope they give the option, under normal circumstances. This was one place my family wanted to try, but no one likes dark meat.

 

[Lissame]

I hope they give the option, under normal circumstances. This was one place my family wanted to try, but no one likes dark meat.

We ate there last year and they specifically asked us which pieces of chicken we wanted. Hubby and I asked for breasts, the kids wanted legs As soon as the server saw we were out of a certain piece, he asked if we wanted more.

We had a great experience there, definitely plan to go back this year, even without Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye.